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World football governing body FIFA has responded to
Ethiopia Football Federation’s protest letter against
the referee’s decision to disallow their goal against
Nigeria in a World Cup playoff in Addis Ababa on
Sunday, superspot.com reports. The home side felt aggrieved after the referee
decided that Salhadin Said’s shot had not crossed
the line in the first half of the encounter in which the
Super Eagles came from behind to beat the Walya
Antelopes 2-1. Ethiopia coach Bishaw Sewnet blamed Cameroonian
referee Neant Allioum for denying his team the goal
and for favouring Nigeria. “We lost the game because the referee was poor;
we scored a goal that he cancelled and the referee
also did other things that were questionable,” he
said. According to FIFA, the decision of the referee was
final and it cannot be overturned. The letter signed by the Director of Legal Affairs Marco
Villiger and Head of Disciplinary and Governance Marc
Cavallero read in part, “We acknowledge receipt of
your letter dated October 13 complaining about the
referee’s decision to disallow a goal against Nigeria.
In respect, we would like to draw your attention to article 14 paragraph 6 of the regulations for the 2014
FIFA World Cup in Brazil. “According to which protests may be made about
referee’s decision regarding facts connected with
play, such decisions are final and not subject to
appeal, unless otherwise stipulated in the FIFA
disciplinary code. “Therefore in view of the foregoing, we regret to
inform you that we are not in any position to
intervene in the matter. Finally, we would like to point
out that the foregoing is of a purely informative nature
and therefore, without prejudice to any decision
whatever.”
